This invention relates in general to folding machines and in particular to a new and useful folding machine having improved adjustable means for feeding the folded materials in a series.
The invention relates to an upset folding machine with several folding pockets, each having an adjustable paper stop, and with a conveyor to seriate like scales the material leaving the folding device, the conveyor having at least one endless conveyor belt whose upper stringer runs in a transport path disposed below a folded material ejection point of the folding device and is driven in an operating direction at a speed slower than corresponds to the ejections speed, and there being provided at least one brake element which rests vertically movable under spring pressure and/or by gravity on the upper conveyor belt stringer, or on the folded material covering the conveyor belt stringer, and is fastened to a holder so as to be adjustable with the holder parallel to the transport path to different distances from the folded material ejection point.
In one known upset folding machine of this kind (German Patent Application No. P 34 12 606.6-27) the conveyor has several conveyor belts which run parallel to each other, are driven by one common drive shaft and are disposed in an inclined plane below the ejection roller pair. The upper stringers of the conveyor belts run across a common, tablelike guide plate serving as a supporting base. Two brake discs are mounted on a common shaft extending transverse to the conveyor belts. By means of a clip the shaft is fastened to a rod extending parallel to the conveyor belts and is adjustable in the rod's longitudinal direction so that their distance from the ejection rollers can be set according to the respective format of the folded material. However, this setting must be made manually by means of a knurled screw which can clamp the clip in which the shaft is mounted to the rod in the desired position.
Also, there are already conveyors having only two conveyor belts and conveyors using no brake discs as brake elements, but flat spiral springs or nonrotating brake pads or balls.
The disadvantage of these known conveyors is that their brake elements must be brought manually into a new position in which their distance from the ejection point is in accordance with the final format of the folded material whenever this final format changes. This disadvantage becomes noticeable particularly when folding machines are involved which should be operable by untrained personnel because, if the distance of the brake elements from the ejection point of the folding machine is set wrongly, especially at high operating speeds, breakdowns may occur in the conveyor area, for instance in that the folded material leaving the folding device is ejected uncontrolled and is not picked up by the conveyor at all, or in that jams and unwanted accumulations and stacking occurs ahead of the braking device.